Professor Gracie Darling
Academic and Professional Career Professor Darling was bullied during her time in Muggle elementary school and never stood out academically during her time at Hogwarts. Despite these setbacks she was a reasonably popular student at Hogwarts and was asked to give a special commencement speech at her graduation; a privilege reserved for only a few of the most beloved graduating students. Her ability to inspire greatness in those around her did not end upon her graduation and as a professor, she has gone on to encourage many to greatness. Personal Life Childhood Gracie was born to Muggle parents with many siblings, about half of whom turned out to be wizards. In Muggle public school, Gracie's visions of fairies and magic made her an easy target for class bullies. When she was invited to Hogwarts, however, all that changed. The quirks and imagination that had put a target on her back in Muggle school was suddenly the norm, and Gracie felt at home at Hogwarts immediately. On top of that, Gracie was generally well-liked by her classmates, which surprised her and empowered her in equal parts. While she was never the smartest student in any of her classes, she engaged actively and committed to being an encouraging, cooperative, positive presence in the classroom. Gracie empathized heavily with teachers and became friendly with her Defense against the Dark Arts professor. She would frequently attend his office hours to chat and tell stories and sometimes would stay after class to talk about defensive and offensive spells. Her memories of feeling helpless to defend herself and her siblings were vivid in her heart, and remain vivid to this day. Post-Graduation After graduation, Gracie met a wizard at a conference. They fell for each other quickly and began a relationship. However, as their relationship progressed, Gracie slowly found herself being isolated from her family and friends. Her boyfriend would become irrationally and violently angry and have fits of verbal aggression. It was a relationship full of high highs and low lows-- or at least, that's what Gracie would tell herself. Eventually, after 3 years, her boyfriend proposed, and she said yes. However, she noticed that he was going out late at night more and more often, and coming home later and later. She had suspicions of infidelity until he came home wearing the brand of a death eater. An argument ensued. He tried to convince Gracie to join as well. When she refused, he attempted to use more forceful methods of persuasion. Things escalated quickly. The resulting events culminated in a duel between the two former lovers in which Gracie killed her husband to be, using the forbidden Killing Curse. The Trial Due to the noise of the altercation, authorities were contacted and Gracie was swiftly arrested. The facts were undeniable-- she had used an Unforgivable Curse and murdered someone. She was sent to Azkaban to be held until her trial could be completed. However, her story had a flashy headline; "Woman Murders Fiance with Killing Curse: Victim or Vigilante?" The details of the trial, once it began, quickly caught public attention from the wizard population. It was a romantic story; a woman terrorized by her abusive fiance, forced to murder him in self-defense and in the interest of justice. Gracie gave a compelling defense at her trial, her affinity for public speaking shining through despite her horror at both her own actions and the despair she experienced in Azkaban. Historically, the use of an Unforgivable Curse is only justified in the eyes of the law if the caster was under the effects of the Imperius Curse. However, given the circumstances of Gracie's situation, and the fact that the person she had killed was a Death Eater, and that it had been done in self-defense, on top of the public support she had gained, she was declared Not Guilty. After the trial-- which lasted about a year-- she retreated from the public eye and was dead to the world for 12 months. Her whereabouts and activity during this time were unknown. Hogwarts Career About a year after her trial ended, after a long period of seclusion, Gracie began to reach back out to her friends and family. One of the first people she contacted was her old DADA professor, who was still teaching at the school and had a few years left before his retirement. He invited her into his classroom as a guest to give a talk and Q&A session on her experience with the Killing Curse. She facilitated a memorable discussion with his classroom, which left his students with a better understanding of the importance of respecting life, and the emotional mark that the use of an Unforgivable Curse will leave on you. Gracie has reportedly said many times that she will never forgive herself for her actions. She was invited to speak in other classes, after that first talk. Before long, she invited to guest-teach. When a substitute position opened up, Gracie was hired, and then offered a full-time position at Hogwarts as a Charms professor when the position became open. Category:Hufflepuff Professors Category:Characters